


'Til My Husband Returns

by lizandletdie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Memory Loss, Spinner!Rumple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizandletdie/pseuds/lizandletdie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a grief-fueled attempt to spend more time with his future child with Belle, a very mortal Rumpelstiltskin turns to magic in order to increase his already long life due to a fear of leaving another child fatherless. The spell backfires, leaving him a young man again but also with no memory of the last 300-odd years of life. He is once again the poor spinner who was married to Milah, without even any recollection of his beloved son.<br/>A heavily pregnant Belle is now forced to seek help from Queen Regina and Emma Swan to help save her husband — while he believes himself to a companion hired to take care of her ‘until my husband returns.’</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Be Careful What You Wish For

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I've had on the back burner for almost a year now, no big.
> 
> I hate that I have to do this, but apparently I do. If you're reading this fic anywhere besides AO3, it was posted without my consent and likely profited someone else. Please consider [donating](https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=CZNGXGNP4PRX4&lc=US&item_name=The%20Mantis%20Fund&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_SM%2egif%3aNonHosted) or swinging by my Tumblr (standbyyourmantis) to let me know what you thought!

  This _had_ to work. Rumpelstiltskin knew he was too old to put so much faith in magic, but he had spent three centuries with magic as his constant companion and that was a hard habit to break even now, when he finally had something he could lose to the price: Belle was pregnant.

It was an announcement that had filled him with terror and joy in equal parts. Another chance to be a father, and another chance to completely fail his child. He had lost Baelfire to his own weaknesses, and the thought of outliving yet another one of his children was too much to bear. Almost as painful, though, was the realization that this child would be younger than his grandson. He was firmly what was referred to in the Land Without Magic as 'middle aged' and he was damn close to just plain old. He would be lucky to see a _second_ grandchild born, and if he had any other children with Belle he wasn't sure he would be around to see them through to adulthood. He couldn't let another child grow up fatherless, not again.

He knew Belle wouldn't approve, but he hoped at least she would understand. She was a forgiving woman, and he hated how often he had to take advantage of that fact but damn him, he couldn't leave another of his children alone. He just couldn't. He would get this right, and he would throw himself on her mercy and he would never, ever betray her trust again. Still, though, he didn't dare ever reveal this one piece of himself to her yet. Once it was all over, they could have a laugh about how silly he had been and how of course she loved him either way. It would be a wonderful silly overprotective Rumple story as soon as he was safely past this worry.

He just needed a little more _time._ He'd had three-hundred-odd years, what could two more decades really matter in the grand scheme of things?

His first instinct had been to use a spell to make himself young again, but the only spells that performed such a feat also took the mind back as well and he couldn't risk that. No, he needed to keep the mind of the Dark One, but he needed the spinner's body back. A cruel twist of irony, that. He'd spent his entire life running from who he had been only to find that at this final task he needed to become that man one last time.

He thought a potion might work, but the process proved tedious and unreliable. Plus it was so damn difficult to find time to work on a potion while keeping it a secret from his heavily pregnant (and, to be completely honest, slightly needy) wife. A curse might work, except that if all went well he would have two true loves within eight weeks. No, he was back to a spell and he was running out of time in which to perfect it.

Really, panic and pressure was the only excuse he would ever be able to give for how reckless he had become in his quest. He should have tested this more thoroughly, but Belle would never have forgiven him testing this on anyone else, no matter how inclined to do so she might have otherwise been.

It wasn't a complex spell, really. He'd started with the existing one and made a few modifications that should let him control the age (he couldn't be a child again) and also retain his memories. It should have worked – by all rights, it _should_ have worked. The swirling purple-blackness overwhelmed him and he could feel himself drawing up taller and thinner. He knew if he could see himself his hair would be darkening, the silver-grey streaks settling into a dark brown throughout.

His leg gave out – he'd forgotten that part – and he stumbled to the floor, hands scrabbling across a table and sending vials of things he didn't recognize clattering to the ground. His head felt funny but now his leg was better, and he couldn't breathe for a minute. Something was going wrong.

He heard a voice he didn't recognize calling his name and turned to see the door open. The woman who came in was beautiful and tiny – and pregnant. He wished he knew her, she had kind eyes.

“Oh, Rumple!” he heard her exclaim as she rushed to his side. But it was too late, he was choked on the strangely colored smoke and everything went black.


	2. Friends and Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina arrives and the full consequences of Rumple's actions are felt.

  The most important thing to remember in situations like this was not to panic and as soon as she was sure her husband's heartbeat and breathing were still strong, Belle took a deep breath and took stock of her situation. There was a mixture of potions she couldn't recognize spilled across the table, her husband was unconscious (and also a lot younger), she was pregnant, and there was nobody else in the house. Perhaps this would be a good time for some mild panic. At least he'd been alone in the room, so whatever had happened he had apparently done to himself.

She grabbed a rag off the table and threw it over the wreckage to hopefully absorb the worst of whatever he'd managed to knock over, since she didn't dare touch any of it. Next, she knelt down on the floor beside him and pressed her lips to his. He didn't stir, so whatever this was had been meant to last through true love's kiss.

“Oh, you stupid man,” she whispered to her husband as she carefully rolled him over onto his back. It would have been a struggle to move him in general, but she didn't dare risk the baby by trying to drag him someplace more comfortable. Whatever he'd done to himself, he'd just have to live with the stiffness when he woke up.

Except he didn't wake up. Belle stayed beside him most of the day, only leaving to eat and attend to her necessities, and each time she returned he was still unconscious. By the evening of the second day, she was becoming worried. They didn't employ servants (not that she thought they'd have been able to find any had they been so inclined) and the nearest town was several miles away. It was a few hour's walk in good conditions, but it had been snowing and she was still very, very pregnant.

There were the doves, at least. Rumple had been using doves to send messages as long as she'd known him, and there were a few still up in one of the towers of the east wing who had stayed even through Zelena's residence in the castle. They didn't particularly _like_ her, but it was going to be her best shot at getting help.

She chanced one more quick kiss before making her way up to the tower. Sure enough, they scattered as soon as they saw her – with one exception. One of the doves remained perched in a far corner. She thanked her lucky stars, picking it up as carefully as she could (she really hated dealing with birds) before whispering her message and recipient and sending it on its way.

Belle had put a lot of thought into who to go to for help. Her first reaction was, of course, Emma. Henry was her husband's only remaining blood relative for at least a few more weeks, and Emma had always been helpful in the past. However, Emma's magical training was with using her own innate powers, not with potions and curses and spells. The same thing was true of Prince David, Jiminy Cricket, her father, or really anyone Belle actually might have considered enough of a friend to go to for help. That really just left her the one option, and as loathe as she was to go to a woman who had psychologically tortured her for thirty years Regina was her only chance at curing her husband.

That didn't mean she really had to be happy about it. She would have liked to grab another of the birds (if one would let her) and call for Jiminy to come stay with her and keep her company, but sending a bird to deliver a message to a cricket seemed a bit dangerous. She would have to do with just Regina and maybe Robin or Henry if she were very lucky.

She was also worried, because it had been at least a day now since he'd had anything to eat or drink. He wasn't immortal anymore, the curse had been broken for ages now and he could very easily die like this. She brought a cup of water up to the tower on her way back and spent the next little while trying to get him to drink something. Mostly she succeeded in getting his hair and face wet, but she was pretty sure at least some of it went down his throat. Hopefully that would be enough.

It was going another long, cold night spent on her chaise in the laboratory.

 

The next morning, Belle was woken up by the sound of the front doors. She almost tripped in her haste to get up, but managed to catch herself. With her heart pounding in her chest, she shot one last glance at her husband before scurrying down the stairs. There was really only one person in the entire Enchanted Forest who would feel comfortable entering the Dark Castle without knocking, after all.

Belle heard her name being called before she found Regina already halfway up the stairs and almost fainted with relief, regardless of the fact that she was now alone with the Evil Queen.

“Where is he?” Regina said brusquely.

“He's in the tower,” she replied. She actually appreciated the queen's attitude, even as the other woman brushed past her on the stairs and left her to follow in her wake. They'd never been on friendly terms, but the fact that she had come so soon after being called and was in such a hurry to get to Rumple meant she wasn't taking this lightly.

“How long has he been unconscious?” Regina asked over her shoulder. “Your message said a day, but I don't know how long it took the bird to find me.”

“I only sent it out yesterday,” Belle replied. “Today is the third day.”

“And he hasn't moved the entire time?”

“No,” Belle said as they finally reached the door to her husband's workroom. “I moved him onto his back, but he's been completely still. It's almost like a sleeping curse or something.”

“That wouldn't have left a heartbeat,” Regina replied matter-of-factly as she let herself into the workroom and Belle had to remind herself that, of all people, Regina _would_ know. “This place is a mess.”

“He never liked me touching his things,” Belle explained with a shrug. “I wasn't sure what I could safely touch.”

“Probably none of it,” Regina admitted, waving her hand and clearing out the broken glass and spilled potions. “Kissing him didn't do anything?”

Belle shook her head.

“So it's not a curse then,” she was moving around the room carefully, examining the table and the open books. “What else did you see when you came in the room?”

Belle wracked her brain for the details.

“I heard a crash and ran in from the library,” she began. “He was on the floor and he was surrounded by that magical...cloud thing that happens. He saw me and he looked confused and then he just closed his eyes and that was it. I don't know what happened.”

“So it was definitely a spell then,” Regina replied, looking for the first time at Rumpelstiltskin where he lay on the floor. “He looks different. Why is he younger?”

“I don't know,” Belle admitted. “He looked like that when I got to him. But that's not all, look at his ankle.”

Regina didn't seem to understand why what Belle was saying was important, so she came and knelt down by her husband's feet and pulled up his right pant leg a bit revealing smooth unblemished skin.

“His ankle is better,” Belle informed her. “There used to be some scarring where he'd broken it but now it's completely fine.”

Regina scowled.

“He definitely did something to himself,” she admitted. “But unless we wake him up I don't think we're going to be able to figure out what exactly that was.”

“And how do we do that?” Belle asked. She'd tried everything she could think of over the last few days and come up short.

“I'm sure he has something around here,” Regina replied, going to the shelves and pulling out containers seemingly at random. “He always did keep a well stocked pantry.”

Belle stayed by her husband as the queen worked, stroking his hair and keeping an eye on Regina as though she would know if the other woman were going to attempt anything. She kept reminding herself that she _had_ to trust Regina. She didn't have to like Regina, but Regina had a skill that Belle herself did not possess and had no interest in. This was her only real hope, and honestly she didn't think Regina would actually try to harm him. Regina and Rumple had a very complicated past, but she was the closest thing her husband really had to a friend and Belle knew that Regina felt the same way or she wouldn't have come so far in so short a time. It really didn't mean that she fully trusted her, though.

It didn't take long for Regina to finish whatever it was she'd been making and turn to face them. She looked between Rumple and Belle for a moment before handing the phial to Belle.

“He needs to drink _all_ of it,” Regina instructed. “Every single drop.”

“That might be a problem,” Belle admitted. “I've had a hard time getting anything in him.”

Regina scowled, but crouched down next to the pair.

“Put his head in your lap and hold his mouth open,” she instructed and Belle didn't want to ask how many unconscious people Regina had poured a potion into as she began to pour the strange looking blue liquid into Rumpelstiltskin's open mouth. Occasionally, Regina would stop and Belle would hold his mouth closed until he swallowed. It was slow going, but in the end they did manage to complete their task.

“How long before it works?” Belle asked, and in response she felt her husband jerk awake on her lap.

“What happened?” he exclaimed, clambering away from both women and looking exactly like a frightened animal. “Where am I? Who are you?”

Belle felt her heart drop down to her toes. He didn't remember her, and he didn't remember Regina. He didn't recognize the castle, and his ankle was healed. She didn't know a lot about magic, but she knew enough to know this wasn't good at all.

“Oh that complete idiot,” Belle heard Regina mutter with a voice full of pity. She snapped her fingers and he froze, the look of panic trapped on his face permanently.

“What did you do?!” Belle challenged. “After all we did to wake him?”

“He made himself younger,” Regina replied. “He erased his memory.”

The blood drained out of Belle's face and she felt a little dizzy. She'd begun to suspect this, but Regina's confirmation just made it so much more real.

“You can fix it though, can't you?”

“I don't know,” Regina admitted. “He was always the one who did the research, I was never nearly as good at it. If he didn't leave any notes then I don't know.”

“But we have to fix it,” Belle insisted. “I need him back. We're having a baby.”

“Belle,” Regina's voice had a note of pity that hadn't been there before. “I'm going to try, but I don't know how long this is going to take. We need to come up with a plan.”

“What kind of plan?”

“Like, who are you going to tell him you are? He's never seen you before, at least this version of him hasn't.”

The baby chose that moment to kick her, and Belle placed a hand over it as it did. She was wearing loose maternity gowns now, but she still looked every inch the pampered lady of the castle. And if his ankle was healed, he would think he was still a peasant spinner. She had absolutely no reason to have him here, unless...

“Wake him up,” she instructed Regina. “I know exactly what to do.”


	3. Just Because You're Paranoid...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumple wants his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story is probably going to end up Swanqueened. You have been warned.

They had moved. The two strange women had moved without seeming to right in front of his eyes, and he wasn't sure what that meant but he suspected magic was involved and he particularly didn't like the look of the one in black.

“Rumpelstiltskin,” the pretty pregnant brunette said. “Are you alright? You scared me terribly! Why were you even in the work room?”

How did she know his name? She'd called it earlier, too, before he'd gone unconscious. He couldn't remember her, though, and he knew he'd remember meeting someone like that. Rumpelstiltskin hadn't met many people of quality in his life and this was clearly a high born lady kneeling on the floor and talking to him like an easily startled dog.

“Where am I?” he finally blurted out. “Who are you?”

“Don't you remember?” she asked him gently. “You're my companion while my husband is away. You're in our castle, in my husband's work room. You had an accident.”

None of that made any sense, but it made more sense than anything else that he could think of. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to believe her.

“Why don't I remember anything?”

“I don't know,” she said sweetly. “But I'm so very sorry about it. We think you spilled a potion but it's going to be okay. Regina is a very powerful sorceress, and she's going to try to figure out how to undo this.”

He couldn't do much more than nod and stare dumbly at the woman identified as Regina. She was so very scary, and he was pretty sure she could destroy him if she wanted. Right now, Regina was rolling her eyes and not looking at either of them. Rumpelstiltskin was afraid, but he couldn't quite put his finger on _why_ beyond the general terror he'd felt most of his life at the prospect of encountering these sorts of people. And none of this made any sense. Why would any lady hire _him_ as a companion?

"Where's Milah?" Rumpelstiltskin finally asked the question that had been lurking in the back of his mind since he woke. They had only been married a year, surely he never would have left her for any reason, not with the ogre war the way it was. "Where's my wife?"

He could have sworn the pregnant lady flinched just a little bit, but the darker one answered him.

"How are we supposed to know that?" She said with a haughty little laugh. "Do you really think we keep track of every peasant we come across?"

"I want to go home," he insisted. "I don't care what I said, I have to see Milah."

The pregnant lady put her hand on his, stalling him as he tried to rise and run.

"Your wife is at safe at home, Rumpelstiltskin, " She said sweetly (and a little sadly). "She knows where you are, and she's just waiting for you to come back home."

"Are you sure?" He asked her. He didn't think she was lying to him, and he knew liars.

"You have my word," She replied. "This will all be over soon, and then you can can be together again, won't it, Regina?"

"Soon enough I imagine," the sorceress said disinterestedly. "I'm fairly sure your husband will be back before the baby is born, anyway."

"See?" The pregnant lady continued, her voice still strange. "You'll be back with your true love very soon."

He still didn't like the idea of being away from his wife, but there had to be some reason he'd gone along with to this castle, didn't there?

"May I ask," he said shyly, feeling a slight blush forming at his ears though mercifully covered by his hair. "What am I getting out of this?"

It felt so tawdry discussing money with these two, but he didn't think they'd ever think to explain it to him themselves. People who had money never thought about what it was for those who didn't.

The two women glanced at each other quickly before the pregnant brunette named a figure, and he felt himself get a little lightheaded at the idea. That did solve the mystery of why he had agreed to come here, at least.

"Of course if you don't think it's worth the danger you've been exposed to," She rushed to continue. "We can definitely renegotiate the amount. I want you to be comfortable here."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that the amount she'd named was more money than he had ever seen in one place at the same time in his entire life. It was starting over money. It was money enough to take Milah and go someplace safe and new, someplace they could start a family and he could start a business.

"It's fine, ma'am," he replied before she could babble on any further. "I'll stay."

She looked so relieved and grateful when he said that he half thought he might have stayed anyway but caught himself before that thought could go any further. She was off limits and he was married.

"Well, if you're going to stay," the sorceress broke in. "Then you may as well learn some manners. She is not _ma'am_ , she's 'my lady' or 'Lady Belle' and I am 'your highness."

He very much hoped that _her highness_ wouldn't be staying too long, or at least that she kept to herself. He couldn't think of many things less desirable than spending too much time in her company.

"Regina," Lady Belle said with a slightly scolding tone. "Can we speak alone? "

"Of course," the sorceress said coolly. "But first don't you think you should show your servant what his duties will be?"

Lady Belle looked over at him, her lower lip tucked between her teeth nervously. He wanted to reassure her he was alright for some reason, and to make sure she was okay as well, but that was not his job.

She nodded, preparing to rise and it didn't even take a scolding from the queen to have him leaping to his feet and offering her his hand. If this were his wife pregnant and alone, he would hope that any man would do the same for her.

  
“What was _that_ all about?” Belle exclaimed. She’d cornered Regina back upstairs in Rumpelstiltskin’s laboratory after showing her husband the kitchen and a guest bedroom and generally giving him the same tour he’d given her all those years ago when she was the maid and he the master. “You didn’t have to be so cruel to him. He’s scared.”

“He’s a servant, Belle,” the other woman said calmly, turning to face her. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I know who he is as well as you do. But if he’s going to be staying here as a servant, you need to play the part of mistress or he’s going to start to suspect.”

Belle knew Regina was right. Hell, she’d known Regina was right as she’d been giving him the tour and watching the way he gaped open-mouthed at everything from the tapestries on the walls to the silverware in the drawers of the kitchen. That didn’t mean she liked watching his friend and sometimes enemy make snide comments when he was scared and weak and confused. Her Rumpelstiltskin could take care of himself, this one needed her so much.

She tried to focus on that, focus on his needing her, because if she let herself be distracted from that she was entirely likely to get very, very angry at his leaving her like this. She was trying to be brave, because one of them had to be, but she was terrified of having this baby by herself. They had planned this whole thing together – everything from the nursery to the name had been selected with care by both of them, but now she was alone. Why hadn’t he told her what he was doing? Why had he done this thing that would leave her alone? They were supposed to be living happily ever after, but now it could possibly be ruined.

She ruthlessly shoved those thoughts away, she couldn’t afford to become bitter right now. She would hopefully have plenty of time to have any number of words with her husband once he was _her_ husband again. This man – however much he may look like the man she’d married (though with fewer years on his face) hadn’t done a thing to earn her ire. He was as much a victim of his older self as she was. She caught Regina’s eyes drifting towards her torso and realized she’d been rubbing her belly in her agitation and quickly let her hand drop.

“Regardless,” Belle finally said. “He’s my husband, whether he remembers it or not.  And he taught you everything you know. You owe him your respect.”

“And when I’ve saved him from himself,” Regina sniffed. “He can berate me all he wants for how I treated him. I don’t really care.”

“After everything he’s done for you?” Belle shot back. “Your relationship? How can you just forget that.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Regina replied. “I came as soon as you called for me, never mind whatever else was going on, because of our relationship. Just because I’m not coddling him doesn't mean I don’t care.”

“I’m not _coddling_ him…”

“You’re pregnant, Belle,” Regina said sharply. “You’re pregnant and in no condition to be traipsing about the whole castle fetching water and food from the pantry. I’m going to be locked in here for gods only know how long sorting this mess out. Were you even going to expect him to cook or did it not occur to you that his magic won’t work now that he’s erased himself?”

Belle was stunned silent. Regina was right, it hadn’t occurred to her and if it had she still would have tried to do it all herself.

“You’re not protecting him, Belle,” Regina reminded her in a softer voice now. “When he wakes up, do you really think he’d thank me for letting you run yourself ragged to keep him from discomfort? It’s not doing him any favors, or your baby.”  
Belle wasn’t really sure what to say in response to Regina’s outburst. She hadn’t ever really liked the woman – experience being what it was and all – but Regina was the closest thing Rumple really had to a friend or an extended family. They had fought for and against each other, but Regina was here now and Belle supposed that meant something. She did owe the queen her thanks, at least, because without Regina there was no hope at all. However much she may dislike Regina, she loved her baby and her husband and that would go a long way toward mending fences.

“Whether he remembers me or not,” Belle finally said. “At the very least, he’s going to be around for awhile and so will you. Things will go a lot smoother if he’s not completely terrified of you.”

To Belle’s surprise, Regina laughed. She didn’t think she’d ever heard the queen really _laugh_ before because she found something funny. She’d seen her laugh at people before, naturally, but this was different. Regina had certainly changed these last few years, and few people were – or would ever be – in a better position to judge that than Belle was.

“If I promise to be nicer to him,” Regina sighed. “Will you let me go back to my work? Your husband has never been the sort to leave legible notes – too paranoid about other people using it against him.”

“He’s rarely wrong, though,” Belle reminded her. “Would you really have wanted the details of the Dark Curse available for just anyone to pick up while we were in Storybrooke? For Zelena to be able to get her hands on?”

“Not leaving notes hasn’t had the best success in keeping it out of the wrong hands,” Regina replied. “And just once it would be nice to try to help the man and not have to spend the better part of six weeks becoming an expert in some obscure branch of magic in order to do it.”

“But you can still help him, can’t you?” Belle asked, suddenly nervous again. “You said you thought you’d be done before the baby came.”

“I should be able to,” Regina was clearly trying to sound reassuring. “Just because it isn’t _easy_ doesn’t mean it’s impossible. He always leaves clues if you know where to look.”

Belle nodded, choosing to believe in the queen, and by extension her husband, because the alternative was just simply too much to bear right now. She had to have him back. This family couldn’t work without him.

  
  


 


	4. Suspicious Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumple tries to discover the truth of his stay here and Regina tries to keep everyone safe. Emma and Henry arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be my first time ever writing Swan Queen. Be gentle.

Rumpelstiltskin was surprised at how easy he found life as a servant. Oh, he wasn't stupid, regardless of what his father had thought – he knew that Lady Belle was kind far beyond any reasonable expectations. She answered any questions he had with a bright smile, and unless she was physically prevented by either himself or the queen she would begin 'demonstrating' the proper way to do something until the task was completed. She asked his opinion on things, sought his company, and seemed to be truly interested in his companionship. Usually, his natural shyness would have prevented him from spending too much time around her for fear of wearing out his welcome, but given the choice between Lady Belle and Queen Regina...well, it was an easy decision to make. The queen still made him wary, and Lady Belle was his only real protection against her.

Also, and this was the part he didn’t want to own up to, he liked her. She was the prettiest lady he’d ever seen, and there was a small piece of him that liked having her attention on him. Women never paid attention to him. Milah had been the first and the last, and he didn’t regret marrying her at all, but it was still nice to see Lady Belle smile at him when he brought her tea. There was a particular cup with a chip in it that she liked. He’d tried to get rid of it, but she had insisted it was her husband’s favorite and used it whenever it was presented to her.

Really, aside from occasionally having to give the queen some of his hair for some purpose he didn’t quite want to think about it was a fairly nice situation that he’d found himself in. So why did he feel so guilty?

“Are you liking it here, Rumple?” she asked him one day not long after he’d woken up without his memory.

“What do you mean?” he asked, pouring her a glass of tea before pouring his own.

She had always insisted on him taking tea with her, and after a few days he’d just begun preparing himself a cup to preempt her needing to ask him. It was strange and delightful having access to so many different types of tea, and so much nicer than what he was used to at home. Here at the castle he was becoming used to nicer things than what was he was used to in his life as a peasant. Even as privileged as he was as a skilled artisan, the things here were so much nicer than what he had at home.

“I mean,” she said as she stirred her tea a little. “I’d like you to be happy here, if you’re to be my companion before the baby comes. Is there anything that would make this feel more like home for you?”

He thought for a moment. He missed his wife, but truth be told he liked his having this to himself. It made him selfish, he was sure, and a terrible husband to boot. But this was actually the happiest he remembered being in a long time.

“I don’t think so,” he finally said. “It’s certainly the best job I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad,” she said a little sadly. “I do want you to be happy here.”

He wasn’t sure exactly what made her want his happiness, but he couldn’t argue with it. It was nice that she cared about his comfort – it wasn’t something he had come to expect from the few nobles he’d had any contact with.

"May I ask you a question, my lady?" he said, watching her as she took a little cake off the tray. He hoped they weren’t too burned this time. He could cook simple food, but baking had been something that hadn’t happened in his home between his aunts dying and Milah moving in. That had been what bakers were for.

Lady Belle blinked her big blue eyes at him quickly and set her treat down.

“Of course,” she replied eagerly. “You can ask me anything, Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Why did you hire me?”

“I needed a companion,” she said almost too fast. “Someone to take care of things while my husband is away.”

“But why me?” he asked. “I’m a spinner, I don’t have domestic skills to run a house like this, especially by myself.”

“You’re doing well enough,” she replied, patting his hand in a manner he thought was meant to be reassuring but her evasiveness made it anything but. “It was my husband’s choice that brought you here.”

“Oh?” he knew it wasn’t his place to push her for more information, but he was desperate to know what had transpired in the period he had forgotten.

“He’s from your village,” she said at last. “And he’s a spinner as well.”

“There aren’t any other spinners from my village,” Rumpelstiltskin replied cautiously. “None that I’ve ever met, anyway.”

“My husband…” Lady Belle seemed at a loss. “My husband is several hundred years older than me. The world was a very different place when he lived there.”

He added this to the ever growing list of things he’d learned about the man who had hired him. Her husband was a sorcerer – and apparently a very powerful one, he was very old, he was from the Frontlands, he was wealthy and he was loved very much by a mortal woman whom he had left alone. With everything he learned, he only gained more questions because he could not imagine leaving a pregnant wife alone with a stranger while he went out doing gods-only-know what for an indeterminate period of time.

He didn’t think Lady Belle liked being left alone with himself and the queen as company, either. There was a sadness in her whenever she spoke of her husband that triggered some protective impulse in him that he was sure would have better been spent on anyone else. Lady Belle was wealthy and privileged, even if he did have the ability to protect her it would be wasted and he should remember that. It didn’t stop him from wishing to do anything in his power to cheer her up, though.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her a joke or a story or perhaps try some juggling – anything to put a smile on her face – when he heard the tell-tale click-click-click of the queen rushing into the room.

“Someone is approaching the castle,” Queen Regina said urgently. “The wards are going crazy.”

“What do you mean?” Lady Belle said, standing up and putting a hand over her belly. “We don’t have wards around the castle anymore.”

“I put some up,” the queen replied, flicking her eyes over Rumpelstiltskin in a way that made him shamefully want to hide behind Lady Belle. “With your husband gone it seemed like a good idea to be prepared for anyone coming by for nefarious purposes.”

“And someone’s coming?” the lady didn’t seem particularly scared, and he wasn’t sure if that should reassure him or not.

“Someone’s coming,” the queen replied icily. “And you could take this a little more seriously, you know.”

“The curse has been broken for years,” Lady Belle said. “And in all that time we haven’t had any thieves or robbers or enemies come by.”

“Yes, well in all that time you had the former Dark One around,” Queen Regina replied snidely. “And now you’re alone.”

“Now I have the former Evil Queen,” Lady Belle shot back. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

The queen didn’t seem to have any reply for that besides a dark scowl, and Rumpelstiltskin suppressed a grin at that. Queen Regina just glared at him and turned with a huff in the direction of the front door, obviously intent on protecting them all from whatever invaders had arrived. Lady Belle wasn’t far behind, and where she went he would go. That’s what he was being paid to do, after all, wasn’t it?

  


Regina wasn’t sure who was coming, and she wasn’t happy about that. On arriving, she’d discovered that whatever protection Rumpelstiltskin had put around the castle had collapsed. That hadn’t been too much of a surprise, all things considered, and Regina had quietly put up her own wards and alarms just in case somebody decided to take advantage of the master being indisposed to come collect on some past debt. And now her alarms were ringing in her head and Belle was completely unperturbed by the whole thing.

No wonder Rumpelstiltskin had always been so high strung when she was living there.

By the time she arrived at the entrance and swung the doors open, the approaching carriage was already stopped and the doors were opening and Henry was leaping down followed closely by Emma.

“Henry!” Regina called to her son, feeling the smile that was taking over her face at the sight of her son. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom!” Henry exclaimed, dashing up the stairs to hug her. “We heard about grandpa. Is everything alright?”

“He’s fine, Henry,” Regina reassured him. “Just…”

“He’s just away is all,” Belle said from Regina’s elbow. “But he’ll be back very soon.”

She was smiling too brightly, and glanced to the side where Rumpelstiltskin stood away from the group of them.

Henry looked over at his grandpa and Regina could see the tension in his shoulders before his gaze settled on Belle.

“How are you, Grandma?” he asked. “And how’s my aunt or uncle?”

“We’re both fine,” Belle reassured him. “But we’ve talked about this and honestly, you can just call me Belle.”

“I know,” he replied. “But I like having you as my grandma.”

She smiled at him fondly and hooked her arm through his.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go see if your room needs to be cleaned before you can settle into it and I’ll tell you all about everything that’s going on.”

Henry went with her happily, and Regina couldn’t help smiling at the height difference between sixteen-year-old Henry an Belle. He was going to be his father’s height soon, and Regina knew that thought would make her friend smile if he remembered any of this. She had to fix everything, because they were all going to rely on her. This was her son’s family, so it was her family as well.

“Hey Regina,” Emma said as she climbed the stairs. “I hope this isn’t too big an intrusion. I couldn’t stop him once he found out where you were and –”

Emma stopped short and Regina followed her line of sight. Rumpelstiltskin was standing in the doorway looking longingly after Belle and Henry, but clearly not sure where he should be or what was going on.

“Don’t just stand there,” Regina snapped. “Take Princess Emma’s bags upstairs to one of the empty guest rooms. Lady Belle will give you directions for Prince Henry’s things later.”

He nodded dumbly and grabbed the bags from Emma before rushing away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Regina almost felt bad for how clearly terrified he was of her, but with any luck this would all be resolved within a few more days and then they could have a delightful argument about it during which she would point out that he had clearly brought all of this on himself and had absolutely no room to judge her or complain about her treatment of him after she saved his ass. She was rather looking forward to that, actually.

“That’s Gold?” Emma asked in a loud whisper. “What the hell did he do to himself?”

“Some spell or another,” Regina replied. “That’s what we’re trying to fix.”

“How’s Belle taking it?”

“Better than I expected her to,” Regina admitted. “Although she’s far too friendly with him to have him fully convinced he’s here as a servant.”

“I don’t blame her,” Emma said. “Especially as pregnant as she is. That’s gotta be rough.”

“I try not to think about it,” Regina said. “He’s left me far too much to deal with upstairs to worry about his love life.”

Emma didn’t reply, she just made a little noise of agreement and kept staring down the hallway where the other three had disappeared.

“How would you like to get some more magic practice in?” Regina asked after a little while. “I don’t think you’ve ever seen anything quite like the Dark One’s workshop.”

“I’m not good with that kind of magic,” Emma demurred. “I’m more of the ‘throw energy beams at it until it explodes’ school of sorcery.”

“Well, it’s time we taught you some finesse,” Regina replied, leading Emma the opposite direction towards the tower. “Besides, I could use a second pair of eyes up there.”

She could use the company, too. Regina would never admit it, but she got lonely without her family around and Emma was probably the person who she had missed the most besides Henry.

 


	5. Like a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry adjusts to live in the Dark Castle.

“Do you think my mom is going to be able to fix Grandpa Gold?” Henry asked Belle quietly as she was opening windows to air out his room.

“I do,” Belle said firmly. “I don’t think there’s anyone in the world better qualified to fix him besides himself.”

She had to believe, because the alternative was too dark to bear.

“It’s so strange seeing him like that,” Henry continued. “He looks like he’s the same age as my dad was the last time I saw him.”

Belle glanced over at Henry, trying to gauge his reactions. This wasn’t the first time he’d ever brought Baelfire up to her like this when they were alone. Having suffered the loss of her mother, Belle could understand his reticence to broach the subject with anyone else. Emma and Rumple were still very much affected by his death, but Henry wanted to know his father. Belle wished she had more to share on the subject besides the few months they’d been together in the Enchanted Forest after Zelena’s curse, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy the boy.

“You look like both of them,” Belle said at last. “It’s the eyes, mostly. And a little in the nose, especially as you’re getting older.”

Henry was looking at her now with a soft sort of desperation. He wasn’t quite her grandson, but she still felt a kinship to him. They both loved books, they both lost parents. She walked over and patted his shoulder affectionately.

“Would you rather stay in this room or should I give it to your mother and put you in the one with all the tapestries?”

“This one is fine,” Henry replied. “Where’s Grandpa sleeping right now, anyway?”

“He’s in servant’s quarters by the kitchen,” she said. “And you have to be careful about what you call him. If he finds out the truth it’s going to make it harder to get him to stay.”

“Right,” Henry agreed. “Rumpelstiltskin for his present state and Grandpa Gold for anything else.”

Of course Henry would catch on, he understood different forms of the same person better than most people did, having grown up in Storybrooke and all.

It was at that moment, of course, that Rumpelstiltskin entered the bedroom looking as lost as she’d ever seen him.

“Did you want the prince’s bags in this room, milady?” he said, making a deferential little half-bow as though unsure of how to manage it.

“Yes,” she said. “And his mother’s in the room with the tapestries. Thank you, Rumpelstiltskin.”

He shot her a relieved smile, clearly out of his debt and grateful to her for not kicking him out on the street at the first sign of visiting royalty.

“It’s so weird seeing him like that,” Henry said. “He’s just so…ordinary now.”

She could understand the sentiment. For hundreds of years – and all of her life and Henry’s – Rumpelstiltskin had been a larger-than-life presence in the world. Even in cursed Storybrooke, Henry would still have known him as being powerful. The man here was unsure and nervous, things only she’d ever seen in her husband before now.

“He’ll be back to leather pants and terrifying your moms’ boyfriends soon enough,” Belle promised. “And then he and I can have a long talk about not telling your pregnant wife when you’re going to be casting spells on yourself.”

“Mom and Killian actually broke up,” Henry said. “So he can have some good news when he wakes up I guess.”

It wasn’t any secret that Rumple had never felt quite comfortable with Killian Jones being in their lives, although the men had come to some sort of uneasy truce at least. Belle was really more worried about Henry at this point, which was a nice distraction from worrying about her husband and her baby and the generalized anxiety about her impending motherhood that had soaked into every aspect of her day to day life.

“How do you feel about that?” she asked him. “I know Killian has been in your life a long time.”

Henry shrugged, turning half away from her.

“I have my moms,” he replied diplomatically. “And we weren’t really close.”

“Your grandma Snow has been doing a good job training you for living at court,” Belle teased him. “I almost wouldn’t have known you were happy about it.”

Henry gave her a relieved smile.

“Was it that obvious?”

“Not really,” Belle said. “But you didn’t want to look at me when you said it. You’re still not quite as good a liar as your grandpa, thankfully.”

She wasn’t quite sure she could handle him being that good at lying just yet.

“So are you okay?” she asked him after a little while.

“I’m fine,” he replied quickly. “I just want my mom to be happy is all.”

“I’m sure she is,” Belle said. “She’s strong, and maybe the visit here will cheer her up.”

“Maybe,” Henry said, not sounding as sure as Belle would have hoped. “But at least I can keep you company while Grandpa is...gone.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” she replied. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that when everything is back to normal.”

Rumple didn’t always like to think about Bae, because it still hurt him that he’d lost his son. It was a wound Belle didn’t ever really expect to heal, and as a result he could sometimes be aloof with Henry, who was the closest thing he had left to his son. Belle made a mental note to push her husband to spend more time with his grandson when this was all over. Henry was so desperate to know what he could of his father only to come up against the wall of a grandfather who found the whole situation too hard.

She just hoped they’d all get a chance to make it right.

 

Henry spent the next few days following Rumpelstiltskin around like a shadow. Belle probably should have stopped him, but she kind of liked it. Emma and Regina were locked up in the tower still working on something (how long did it take to brew this potion, anyway?) leaving Henry and Belle to spend time together with Rumple. Fortunately, Henry had paid enough attention to his Grandma Snow’s second pregnancy to know what not to say to an expectant mother so things went fairly well, actually.

Rumple was in a constant state of high anxiety and confusion at having a prince ask him earnestly about his life. At first, Belle suspected he was worried that the boy was making fun of him but Henry’s dogged determination and rapt attention soon wore him down. It was the longest she’d ever heard her husband speak of his life as a young man.

He was currently explaining sheep shearing to Henry, and Belle wasn’t sure she’d ever seen the boy much more intrigued with anything in his life. Well, between David and Rumple he did have sheep in his blood the same way a collie does. Belle supposed it was really only a matter of time before that switch got flipped.

“So do you actually own any sheep?” Henry asked.

“I have a few,” Rumple replied patiently. “Most of my wool I purchase, though. Keeping a herd is expensive and I’d need a helper or two in order to keep it up.”

“So what do you use your sheep for?”

“We keep them for milk, mostly,” Rumple explained. “But I do spin their wool.”

“Do you have dogs?” Belle broke in.

Her husband had mentioned a familiarity with sheep dogs once. It felt like a lifetime ago now, but it had really only been a few years.

“One,” he answered, turning and flashing her a shy smile. “He’s an old boy now, but he does good work.”

“What’s his name?” she asked.

“Swift.”

“That’s a nice name.”

They hadn’t quite finished naming their baby yet. Belle’s heart hurt at the realization. If it was a girl they’d more or less settled on Colette after her mother, but for a boy they’d been stymied. She’d wanted him to choose that one, but he’d not had anyone worth a namesake and had always been so withdrawn the last few weeks. At least now she knew why.

Henry continued interrogating his grandfather as the man set the table, still not quite sure what to do about a prince who wanted to know his life story and help him with dinner. Belle lost the thread of the conversation, though. She kept watching him. From the back, she almost wouldn’t have known there was anything wrong. His hair was darker and he was a little thinner, but the rest of him was the same. From the front, though...it wasn’t that he looked different so much as he just looked wrong. The worst was the eyes. He didn’t look at her with the same adoration he always had before. She missed that so much sometimes she just wanted to scream.

How could he have done this to her? How could he leave her when she needed him most? She had relied on him to take care of her -- they’d been trying to start a family together, for gods’ sake! She should be nervous and ecstatic right now and enjoying her last few weeks of  being a twosome with her husband. She shouldn’t be spending all her free time with her husband’s grandson, playing hostess to a woman who literally stole her heart, and fighting away this overwhelming terror that he wouldn’t be back and she’d be left with this stranger who wore her husband’s face.

 

The prince was incredibly curious. Rumpelstiltskin wouldn’t have thought that the life of a spinner would be so fascinating to a young boy, but Prince Henry seemed truly interested in everything there was to know about peasant life. His arrival (and that of the Princess Emma) had meant the Queen had much less to be offended by his poor manners. It had cut down on the amount of time he had to spend with Lady Belle, though.

He felt a little guilty about how much he enjoyed her company, which in and of itself should have made him glad for Henry to serve as a distraction. She was so very kind, though, and clever. There weren’t educated women in Rumpelstiltskin’s world (or educated men, for that matter). She would read out loud to him sometimes and he found her stories fascinating. He wasn’t the sort to think women were better seen than heard, or to find it emasculating if a woman exceeded his skill at something. She was the most interesting person he thought he’d ever spoken to and he hated himself for how much he enjoyed it.

He was married. She was married. Her husband could do horrible things to him if he wanted to. He was here because he needed the money, and because he wanted to build a better life for his wife. He wished he had some memento of Milah with him, something to remind him of her while he was away. It struck him as odd that he hadn’t brought one, actually. What a silly thing to forget. Maybe he hadn’t expected to be away too long. He wished he could remember coming here. It felt like years since he’d last seen his wife, but that was probably just a reaction to the memory potion.

It couldn’t take the queen too much longer to figure this all out, could it? He just missed his life. He felt like whatever he’d forgotten was important. He trusted Lady Belle, but with no memory of her husband he couldn’t feel completely comfortable here. It didn’t help that Prince Henry looked so damn familiar but he couldn’t quite place the child. Perhaps he’d seen the boy’s father at some point, but Rumpelstiltskin was sure he’d have remembered seeing a king.

It was really just uncanny, though, how very familiar the boy looked. It was like waking up from a dream and being unable to remember enough of it to put together the story, only flashes of images remained.

 


End file.
